U.S. immigration agencies ordered an end to the use of the terms “foreigner” and “assimilation.”

by

A pair of notes issued Monday by Tae Johnson and Troy Miller, the acting heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, outlined the updated language for all external and internal communications to align with the Biden administration guidelines regarding immigration terminology.

The terms “alien” will be replaced by “non-citizen” or “migrant,” “illegal alien” by “undocumented citizen” or “undocumented individual” and “assimilation” will change to “integration,” according to the memoirs.

“We enforce the laws of our nation while maintaining the dignity of every individual we interact with. The words we use are important and will serve to confer that dignity on those in our custody,” Miller’s note states.

The press releases from both agencies had previously referred to undocumented immigrants as “foreigners.”

CNN has approached ICE for comment. The Washington Post first reported the change.
The formal change in terminology is achieved after the Trump administration’s immigration policies. President Donald Trump often invoked the term “foreigner” in speeches while warning of what he considered the dangers of uncontrolled illegal immigration.
Immigrant rights advocates have long denounced the term “illegal alien” as a dehumanizing joke, and it became even more of a lightning rod during the Trump era, with some senior federal officials encouraging the its use and several states and local governments took measures banning it.

In the past, officials have pointed to the prevalence of the term in U.S. law to defend their word choices.

President Joe Biden has tried to take deliberate steps to recognize America as “an immigrant nation,” even in his proposed immigration review, his administration said.

The Biden administration continues to struggle with an influx of migrants on the southern border. The number of unaccompanied minors in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody, an agency that does not seek to care for children for extended periods of time, hit dramatic highs throughout March.

In a notable change over the weekend, Biden described the influx of migrant children on the southern border as a “crisis,” a term that senior government officials have refused to use, rather than qualifying. the “challenge” situation. The White House sought to back the president’s comments Monday, saying Biden was referring to conditions in the northern triangle countries that come from migrants and not the increase in migrant children in U.S. custody.

The Biden administration is not the only one to draw attention to the language used to characterize immigration. Former President George W. Bush on Sunday called on Congress to soften “harsh rhetoric” about immigration, adding that he hopes doing so will “give a more respectful tone” to immigrants and lead to reform.

“I want to say to Congress, please put aside all the harsh rhetoric about immigration, put aside trying to add political points on both sides. I hope I can help establish a more respectful tone with the immigrant, which can lead to system reform, “Bush told Norah O’Donnell on CBS Sunday Morning.

This story was updated with additional details on Monday.

CNN’s Betsy Klein, Catherine E. Shoichet, Nicky Robertson, and Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.

.Source